In Lebanon, sects come first, the nation second

Sunday 9 August 2009

In Lebanon, sects come first, the nation second

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"....Yes, Mr Jumblatt is the leader of a sect of just 300,000 people “who can reinvent himself every decade and take his entire community in a new direction”.

The size of the Druze sect in Lebanon has never been a detrimental factor in shaping politics in the country, but it is its strength to influence what direction politics take.

This is historically true in the case of Lebanon and it is likely to continue as long as Lebanon holds on to its sect-based system.

First, since independence in the 1940s, the Druze have almost always held the political balance in the country. The late leader of this sect, Kamal Jumblatt,was famously known as “the king maker” for nearly three decades. His son, Walid, is simply trying to maintain this role.
Second, Walid Jumblatt says his party’s five-year-old alliance with the “Future” bloc led by Saad Al Hariri, the prime minister designate, was “an alliance of necessity” and now has become outdated.

This must come as no surprise as many other sect leaders in Lebanon feel the same, one way or another, about their current alliances, including the partnership between the Christian Maronite leader, General Michel Aoun, and the Shiite militia leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

Third, the explanation given by Mr Jumblatt, as Emile Hokayem wrote, that he was acting in the best interests of his community, not necessarily with a sense of Lebanese citizenry but as a member of the Druze sect.

In the current Lebanese political elite, in both majority and minority blocs, only a handful of powerless intellectuals will conduct themselves with this sense. Everyone else will speak on behalf of their sects and not necessarily on behalf of the Lebanese citizen."